SNEEZING, WHEEZING, SNIFFLING: SPRING WEATHER MEANS MORE ALLERGY TESTING

Prongs on test panels are coated with chemicals that represent dogs, cats, pollens and other things in nature which might cause allergic reactions. The prongs are then pressed against the upper back to see if a whelp develops.

Mayberry documented the size and location of a whelp to help the allergist, Dr. Robert Sacha, determine what things might cause an allergic reaction in the patient.

For some people, the sneezing and wheezing associated with spring causes patients to come pouring in to the waiting rooms of area allergists.

Once they reach the doctors' offices, allergists like Dr. Robert Sacha like to compile a patient history and perform a skin test to determine what specifically is causing symptoms such as sinus congestion, sneezing, itching, watery eyes and an overall feeling of fatigue.

Sacha said finding out what the patient is doing when he develops allergies often is more revealing than the skin test that sometimes pinpoints the cause of allergies.

But the skin test is an important part of diagnosing allergies. Although the test used to contain needles that penetrated the skin (and caused pain), the predominant method of testing in the last decade causes patients very little discomfort. In fact, today's allergy skin test might be compared to pressing the teeth of a comb against the skin.

Ten plastic panels each containing eight prongs are treated with a different chemical that represent everything from airborne pollens and spores to pets which can all trigger allergic reactions. Each of the panels are pressed against different skin areas of the patient's upper back. Should the patient have a reaction to anyone of the chemicals, a whelp -- like a mosquito bite -- forms within 15 minutes.

The chemicals represent everything from specific trees like cedars to grasses like ragweed. Chemicals representing dogs and cats also are used in the skin test. In all, about 80 different skin reactions are measured by pressing the panels against the back.

Sacha said the number of patients he sees is picking up because of the season. Trees already are starting to fill the air, he said, and grass season will start at the end of April. "By the first of June, it slows down," he said.

Ragweed becomes powerful in the fall, and patients again start streaming into the waiting room, he said.

Once a patient develops a whelp after a skin test, sometimes the physician suggests altering the behavior of the patient to minimize the effects of allergies. For example, someone proven to be allergic to a cats, might be advised to stay away from the felines.

Besides the patient's behavior, the behavior of the patient's parents also is considered, Sacha said. Sometimes young patients are allergic to their parents' habits such as smoking.

In addition to altering the patient's behavior, medications or injections might be prescribed to the patient will be able to lead a life free of the symptoms associated with allergies.

Sacha said the pharmaceutical community has made advances in the last few years that overshadow advances in previous years. He said non-sedate antihistamines have been developed that allow a patient to take the medication without the side effect of drowsiness. Five new non-sedate antihistamines have been developed in the last two to four years, he said.

"And they're developing new medications every day," he said.